It's About Time

My Lovely Bride and I have been keeping company for going on thirty five years, during which time we have lived in four different states with twelve or thirteen different addresses. We purchased homes together, had three children, 5 or 6 dogs and more cats than I can remember. We nursed each other through some pretty serious times and continued to put up with each other through all these years. With all this in mind, I recently decided to do the "right thing" and make an honest woman of her.

Now before everyone gets too excited, I'll try to explain. We took care of the legal details over thirty-three years ago in San Antonio, so all the cats, dogs, and kids are, what used to be referred to as, "legitimate". That's not a term that gets used much anymore and there are a bunch of people out there who obviously don't understand the definition or application of the word...but that needs to be another posting. Our wedding was wonderful, everybody had a great time and there are even a few who are able to remember some of the proceedings. Papa Wally was footing the bill for the rehearsal dinner, and wanted everybody to have a good time, so the bar never closed.

The one minor detail which somehow got overlooked during all that joining together involved wedding rings. Most of you probably realize that weddings and such are the domain of women. Men are involved only peripherally, and then only grudgingly. Wedding bands were selected by the blushing bride-to-be and her mother, and my contribution was to pay for her ring. With all the excitement and hangovers surrounding the big event, the LB went ahead and paid for the rings when she picked them up and never bothered to ask me for my share.

Fast forward twenty years or so, we retired from the Army, moved to the Texas Hill Country, and she managed to lose her self-purchased wedding ring. There was an interesting story around its loss, and a thorough search was made, but bottom-line is the ring went away, never to return. Another 12 years slipped by with the LB ringless, before I began to feel pangs of guilt. After all, I had never bought the woman a wedding ring! So on the recent Hallmark Holiday known as Valentines Day, we moseyed down to the mall, visited 5 or 6 jewelery stores and tried on a multitude of rings before deciding on the perfect one. Of course, it wasn't available in her size, so a special order was put in and within a month the ring arrived. Another trip to Austin secured the long awaited band, and saw it on the LB's finger where it really did look perfect. And it only took me thirty-three years.